The Dunklin County Health Department is now gearing up for the 2002-2003 flu season. Plans and preparations are already under way at the local health center in Kennett to prepare Dunklin County residents for the upcoming flu season.

According to Kim Hughes, director of nursing at the Dunklin County Department of Health, unlike the previous flu season, this year?s vaccine supply is plentiful and already in stock.

?We?ve got plenty and they will be given out somehow and someway to the residents of Dunklin County,? Hughes said.

Due to a manufacturing price increase this year, the cost of the vaccine will be $15 for persons not having Medicare or Medicaid.

As in previous years, the health department will not be providing the vaccine for pregnant women or children under the age of 18. According to Hughes, these two risk high groups should check with their local health care provider to obtain the vaccine.

Influenza (the flu) is a contagious disease that is caused by the influenza virus. It attacks the respiratory track in humans (nose, throat, and lungs). The flu is different from a cold and usually presents symptoms such as fever, headache, tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and body aches. Most people who get the flu will recover in 1 to 2 weeks, but some people will develop life-threatening complication such as pneumonia as a result of the flu. An annual flu shot is the best way to reduce the chances that you will get the flu.

Flu viruses change from year to year, therefore influenza vaccine is updated each year to protect people from the most prevalent. According to Hughes, the biggest myth concerning the Influenza vaccine is that the shot can give you the flu.

?Flu vaccines are made from killed influenza viruses, therefore these viruses cannot give you the flu,? Hughes said.

No vaccine is 100 percent effective in prevention, however, if you get a flu shot but still get the flu, you are likely to be far less sick than you would have been without the protection.

The following groups should not get a flu shot before talking with their physician or health care provider: people who have a severe allergy to hens? eggs, people who have had a severe reaction to a flu shot in the past, and people who have a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome(GBS).

The best time to get a flu shot, if you are in a high risk group, is from October through November. Flu shots are still given and encouraged through December and January due to the fact that flu activity in the United States generally peaks between late December and early March.

The Dunklin County Health Department will be at the following location sites, to administer flu vaccines to interested Dunklin County residents at the following times. On Tuesday, October 1 at the Malden Community Center from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The Dunklin County Health Center in Kennett hold a vaccine clinic from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, October 4. On Monday, October 7, at the Cardwell Community Center from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

The health department will hold two clinics on Wednesday October 9. The first clinic will be at the Senath Community Center from 9:30 to 11 a.m. The second clinic will be at the Hornersville Community Center from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The final scheduled clinic will be at the Campbell Community Center on Thursday, October 10 from 10 to 11 a.m.

For more information about any of these clinics or the flu vaccine, contact the Dunklin County Health Department at (573) 888-9008. ? ? On the web: www.cdc.gov/nip/flu